Mrs. Elmore’s class in Florida made a comment to one of my posts about freezing in cold weather. I didn’t understand what they meant until my human told me that in Florida and other places, it rarely gets cold and almost never snows. I just couldn’t imagine a place like that. My human grew up in Miami, Florida and told me about hardly ever wearing a coat. She said instead of getting really cold, it got really hot. She said she likes living up north now and enjoys the cold and snow. All this got me thinking, if there are places that never have to dress for cold weather, they wouldn’t know how. I bet Mrs. Elmore’s class wonders how anyone stays warm in very cold temperatures.
I don’t have to worry about staying warm. I have a natural warm undercoat that not only keeps me warm but helps me stay dry. Staying dry is very important when you want to stay warm. Humans don’t have that warm undercoat. So they have use clothing. It’s quit a sight to watch my humans get ready to go out on a run with us. They do what’s called layering. The number of layers and type of material the layer is made of changes with how cold it is.
The first layer is called the wicking layer. The skin will still sweat and the wicking layer helps the moisture move away from the body. The moisture goes through the material and gets trapped on the other side away from the body. You may of heard of long johns or long underwear. That’s what this layer is but it’s made out of special material for wicking. My human has these long johns in three different weights, light, medium and heavy. The colder the temperature the heavier weight long johns she wears. But she says they all feel light weight while wearing them. She also puts on a light weight pair of wicking socks. She said she usually puts the socks on first and then puts the long johns over the socks. This gives a seal so air cannot get to the skin.
The next layer depends on how cold it is. My human says here in New Hampshire she doesn’t usually do too much. First she puts on another pair of socks. She says these socks are usually made out of wool or Alpaca fur. If it is really cold (below 0) she will put on another pant layer out of fleece. She always puts on a long sleeved turtle neck shirt. Once in awhile she will also put on a sweat shirt.
The final layer is a heavy weight overall. It has a thick quilted lining that is very warm. Then she puts on a coat. Finishing this outfit is 1 or 2 pairs of gloves and a warm hat.
When my human is all dressed up, it’s hard to recognize her. Good thing I have a good sense of smell. If I can’t figure out who my human is by sight, I certainly can by smell.
Also, my human told me tell you that although it seems like wearing all this clothing would be too heavy to move in, the clothing is made with materials that are light weight and flexible. She is still able to move pretty quickly when she needs to.
Look for my next post in a few days. I will be answering a question I got about what goes in the sled bag.
Have a great week. There are many things going on this week in preparation for the race start on Saturday. Check in often for Zuma, Libby, Sanka and my posts.
Happy Trails,
Gypsy.
10 Comments
Gypsy,
We have seen your pictures and you are very cute! Our dog is short haired and gets cold easily. He is an american bull dog, pit bull terrier mix. He is cute too! Looking forward to your post about what is in the sled bag.
Your Friend,
Anson
Hi Anson,
Thanks for writing. My post on sled bags should be up soon.
Gypsy
hello zuma= well here i set in my easy chair-i’m ready to watch this great race.which is always exciting.we have plenty of snow here in michigan.hello to all your buddys,stay strong and happy trails to you all. as i wont leave this computer till the last racers in.good luck to all. hugs a.c.
Thanks for writing. Well I hope you leave your computer to eat, sleep, and take care of your chores. You have to stay strong and healthy so you can watch the whole race. Enjoy the race. Gypsy.
how old are you? How many reports have you done? How many letters have you received? What type of dog are you? Who is your favorite musher in all of the races? Which musher are you cheering for this year? Have you ever had puppies before and if so how many puppies have you had? Are you married? Do you live with a person? Have you ever seen a race before? How many dogs are in a group? Emma
Hi Emma, I am 1 years old and I am a Siberian Husky. You can read about me by clicking on “Meet the Reporters”. I like all the mushers and am watching all of them. I am not married and I have never had puppies. I live with 2 humans and 8 other Siberians including my brother, my mom, and my grandma. Thanks for writing. Gypsy
How many dogs can pull the sled and what is the minimum?
Hi, If you are talking about the Iditarod, teams must start with 12-16 dogs. Most mushers start with 16. For the minimum, you can to to the “for the mushers” area of the Iditarod website and then go the the “rules” section. It will tell you how many dogs a musher must finish with. If you are asking a general question, I’ve known of some races that are called unlimited, where mushers hook up as many as 18 or 20 dogs. My human has hooked up as few as 2 of us at a time. She says if the trail is fairly flat and she wants to do a short run or some training, 2 dogs work just fine. Hope that answers your question. Thanks for writing. Gypsy
Gypsy,
Is your diet any different the week before the start of the race?
We are studying the Iditarod in our 3rd grade class in Fort Myers Florida. We each got to pick one Musher and will follow the entire race. Peyton
What is your favorite food? How old are you? Who is your favorite musher? Who is your favorite companion? Ethan
Hi Ethan, My favorite food is my dog kibble with salmon soup over it. My favorite companion is my brother Slate. He is my best friend.
Thanks for writing. Gypsy
The ending is SO funny! Austin
Dear Gypsy,
What’s the best part about being
in the race? What was the coldest temperature you have ever seen? I love dogs! In fact,I have a dog. Her name is Holly. She’s one year old,and she’s a Golden Retriever. I’m looking forward to seeing the race!
With Love,
Hannah
Hi Hannah, I don’t race, I run on a recreational team and am in k-9 journalism school. Have fun following the race. Gypsy
Hey Gypsy,
I am following mushers, and I want to know their bib numbers, but I don’t know how to find out. Plus, different websites I’ve gone to say different things about which place the mushers are in this year. Since Thrusday was when all the mushers figured out their numbers, I thought I’d find that out then. I didn’t, so could your help?
Thanks, from Kay
Hi Kay, Go to http://www.iditarod.com and at the top of the page there are tabs. Click on the one that says 2008 Iditarod. When it take you to that page, go to the write and look in the blue box for “musher listing” click on that and it will take you to a listing of all the mushers by bib number. Hope that helps. Gypsy
Deer Gypsy. I’m Selkie, an Alaskan Malamute, and we live in New York City. New York City? you ask. Well, we live right around the corner from a big park, and when ever I want to go out–you know why, so I won’t say it–I sit in front of my humans and stare at them. It usually works, but sometimes it takes a while; they’re so slow. I’ve never pulled a sled, but my male human keeps telling me he’ll get me a harness. We don’t have room in our apartment to store a sled, so I don’t know what I’ll do with a harness if he ever gets one for me. My male human had a four-dog team once when he lived outside Chicago. He says it was fun, but a lot of work.
My humans also keep saying they’ll take me to see the start of the Iditarod. Sure. Promises, promises. Oh, well. I have a lot of friends here, but most of them are a lot smaller than I am.
Keep reporting on the race, Gypsy.
Your friend, Selkie, and I’m five.
Hi Selkie, My human described what New York City is like and showed me a picture. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live in a place with such big buildings. Where I live, I can barely see another house from the one I live in. There’s lots of trees and mountains and right now LOTS of snow. Thanks for reading and writing me. Gypsy